Table 2

Activities that account for 90% of energy expenditure in the United States, not including sleeping1.

Rank
Activity Description
MET
Percent of Total Score (%)
Cumulative Percentage (%)
Number of people

1
Driving car
2.3
10.9
10.9
6574
2
Job: Office work, typing
1.5
9.2
20.1
2094
3
Watching TV/movie, home or theater
1.0
8.6
28.8
5919
4
Taking care of child/baby, (feeding, bathing, dressing)
3.0
8.4
37.2
6545
5
Activities performed while sitting quietly
1.3
5.8
42.9
4086
6
Eating (sitting)
1.5
5.3
48.2
6843
7
Cleaning house, general
3.0
3.9
52.2
1489
8
Talking/ Visiting, in person or on phone
1.5
3.8
56.0
2858
9
Job: Industrial plant/factory (e.g. assembly line)
3.0
3.8
59.7
333
10
Food preparation (e.g. cooking, baking, setting table)
2.0
2.9
62.7
3996
11
Job: Construction site
5.5
2.8
65.4
119
12
Job: Light intensity, stand/walking (e.g. hospital staff, real estate)
3.0
2.7
68.1
291
13
Yard work-general (e.g. mowing lawn, trimming hedges)
4.3
2.6
70.7
559
14
Attending event (social) involving talking while sitting
1.6
2.2
73.0
1499
15
Shopping for non-foods (e.g. clothing)
2.3
2.1
75.0
1408
16
Job: Light standing (e.g. store clerk, bartender, hair stylist, lab work)
2.0
1.8
76.8
289
17
Job: Farm hand (chores: baling hay, cleaning barn)
8.0
1.5
78.4
57
18
Job: Restaurant staff (e.g. waiter, chef)
3.0
1.5
79.9
129
19
Job: Teaching class
1.8
1.1
81.0
195
20
Laundry
2.2
1.1
82.0
863
21
Walking, moderately, (e.g. doing errands, walking to school)
2.8
1.0
83.1
716
22
Fishing and Hunting
3.3
0.9
84.0
103
23
Cleaning kitchen (sweeping)
3.3
0.9
84.9
689
24
Shopping for food, putting groceries away
2.4
0.9
85.7
1125
25
Swimming
7.0
0.8
86.6
96
26
Job: Mechanic
3.0
0.7
87.3
56
27
Gardening: Weeding, landscaping, picking vegetables
3.7
0.6
87.9
198
28
Remodeling, repairing house, workshop, concrete work
3.6
0.6
88.5
123
29
Exercise, aerobics
6.5
0.6
89.1
248
30
Job: Driving (e.g. truck driver, bus, ambulance, tractor)
2.7
0.6
89.7
88
31
Dancing/ Heavy Partying (all styles of dancing)
4.0
0.6
90.2
122

1National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS).

Dong et al. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2004 1:4   doi:10.1186/1479-5868-1-4